Vivendi backs Telecom Italia, Open Fiber network merger under right conditions

MILAN: Telecom Italia’s (TIM) main shareholder Vivendi said on Sunday it would back a merger of the fixed-line networks of TIM and rival Open Fiber if conditions were right, while renewing its attack on U.S. activist fund Elliott.

Elliott, which owns just under 10 percent of TIM, is locked in a battle with Vivendi over how to re-launch the debt-laden firm after last year wresting control of its board from the French media giant.

In a series of slides, Vivendi said TIM’s fixed network was core to value creation, adding it would support a merger of Open Fiber with TIM if conditions were right from an operational, financial and regulatory standpoint and overseen by an independent board.